Service-learning programs could provide the kind of hands-on activities that bring relevance to classroom lessons and keep more students engaged in school longer, a report argues.
Students involved in service-learning programs report being more interested in their coursework and better motivated to do well in school, it says. Moreover, teachers report in surveys that students participating in service learning have improved attendance, while at-risk students not involved in service-learning programs said in focus groups that those activities seemed more interesting than their current classes.
For background, previous stories, and Web links, read Dropouts.